Lyse Doucet: Under fragile ceasefire, Iranians wonder if US deal can be done
The BBC’s chief international correspondent reports from Iran as diplomatic efforts to avoid a return to war intensify.
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More than £1bn pledged for Sudan as humanitarian crisis deepens
Donors exceed funding target at Berlin conference but prospects for ceasefire remain distant
More than £1bn (€1.15bn) has been pledged for war-ravaged Sudan at a conference in Berlin, eclipsing the funding target organisers had set to help mitigate the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The financial commitments made on Wednesday will also help offset a chronic humanitarian funding shortfall in a country devastated by three years of conflict, where two-thirds of its population – 34m people – require assistance.
South Africa names apartheid-era negotiator as ambassador to US
Appointment of Roelf Meyer seen as attempt to improve relations amid false US accusations of ‘white genocide’
South Africa has appointed a former apartheid government chief negotiator during the talks that ended white rule in the 1990s as ambassador to the US, in what is seen as an attempt to improve the deeply strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
Roelf Meyer replaces Ebrahim Rasool, who was expelled in March 2025 after he criticised the Trump administration.
Suspicion surrounds death of US influencer Ashly Robinson in Zanzibar
Lifestyle influencer died while on vacation with boyfriend, who local officials say has since had his passport ‘withheld’
Ashly Robinson, a US lifestyle influencer, died last week while on vacation in the Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar with her boyfriend, Joe McCann. Robinson’s death on 9 April, just days after her birthday and a marriage proposal from McCann, has sparked suspicion on social media, with users doubtful of the current narrative surrounding her death.
No arrests have been made, and police previously said that McCann was not suspected of wrongdoing. But officials in Zanzibar released a statement on Tuesday saying that McCann’s passport has been “withheld”.
Ant smuggler sentenced to a year in jail by Kenyan court
More than 2,200 ants were found in Zhang Kequn’s luggage at Nairobi airport, with baggage destined for China
A Chinese national has been sentenced to a year in prison and fined by a Nairobi court for attempting to smuggle thousands of ants out of Kenya, a lucrative trade in east Africa that was exposed last year.
The insects are mostly destined for China, the US and Europe, where they become pets and can be worth about $100 each.
Trump’s rift with Pope is playing out in public – it’s costing him valuable support
Leading conservative Catholics tell the BBC why they back the American pontiff in his spat with Trump.
Israel and Hezbollah continue attacks after Israel-Lebanon talks in US
Israel strikes hit southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fires rockets at Israel, a day after rare direct negotiations.
More than 200 Iranian sailors stranded after US torpedo attack return home
The survivors of the US attack on Iranian vessel Iris Dena, which claimed the lives of 104 people, were among those repatriated.
Justice denied: why families of apartheid victims are still searching for answers
Struggle for justice symbolises limitations of Truth and Reconciliation Commission, whose hearings began 30 years ago
Darkness had fallen on 27 June 1985 when Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparrow Mkonto set off on the 150-mile drive back from a meeting of anti-apartheid activists in the South African city of Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha. They never made it home.
About an hour into their journey, as the road wound north from the coast towards their home town of Cradock (now called Nxuba), the four men were pulled over by three white security police officers. They were handcuffed and driven back towards Gqeberha.
Israel and Lebanon hold first direct talks since 1993
A US statement said the two sides had agreed to launch direct negotiations, at a time and place to be determined.